...If he is indeed running...
Needs to be prepared for and respond victoriously to the way the war room still engaged against Democrats will try to frame it. You can see by the way Biden's innocent remark was shredded, even here. I loaded google news to get this as top story: Biden Enters Presidential Race on Anti-Black Platform.
We should realize that Kerry's own "foot in mouth" problem was distortion. We should realize it was we who were played because the aim, successful as it was, was to get people not loyal to the candidate to have a reason not to like the candidate. Either because we believed the charge, or failing that, felt it enough of an indication of lameness to forbid "electability." The Obama stuff is out there and the Hillary "evil and bad men" remark which could refer to either her husband or OBL(!), is out there. The damage of the latter two remains to be seen but no doubt more is in store.
I liked Kerry as a potential 2008 candidate; much more than for 04. Of the four above still in the running I guess it would be Obama. Richardson had a solid entry, we'll see how that goes. But the issue now is Clark. I think that whatever his positions ultimately fall out as, many view him as the best choice now. Nothing against Obama or Richardson on whom my personal jury is out, I've long since come to like Clark.
His viability will be decided in his announcement, I wager. It will be twisted whatever he says. Any mistake will be amplified, any two distinct thoughts that can be strung together to create a false third, will be.
Clark will not get a verbal response out in the media, so this is one fight that must be pre-emptive. He has to give them something they can't resist, so they trumpet it. So that his announcement gets a huge amount of coverage. It has to be something that will seem to the media overlords like it spells death to his candidacy. It has to be something that actually garners him a tremendous amount of support, that strikes a chord people haven't heard in ages, but have been aching for. Obviously he has certain positions and they are all rather mainstream Democratic, so he will need to dig deep. It won't be pro-gun or profoundly protectionist, it won't be divisive; and people have heard healthcare so much that his in fact unique stance on single-payer is out too.
He needs to say, in my opinion:
"What are we fighting for? Freedom for America!"
He needs to find his footing with the emerging libertarian democrat demographic, and get those people Markos points out decided some tight races voting not for the libertarian, but for him. It's not gonna be on the gun issue; he's made that clear and I can live with that. It's gonna have to be a war on the various BS wars declared upon our homefront by our government.
"No more war on America. No more making imaginary enemies out of fellow Americans."